One year after Maryville explosion, worker’s death still embroiled in legal dispute

In the afternoon of April 6, 2016, John Doug Behme, of Worden, was using a construction-grade tiller along Illinois 162 for a planned subdivision when his equipment struck an underground gas pipeline, rupturing it. The gas exploded. Billowing black smoke darkened the partly-sunny spring sky.

Burns covered 70 percent of Behme’s body. Behme, 44, died of his injuries on April 29 in the burn unit of Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, 23 days after the explosion.

Maryville Police Officer Justin Krausz was on patrol when he saw the towering 75-foot flames. After calling in to dispatch, he drove toward the explosion. He got as close as he could, then saw a man emerge from the flames. Despite his injuries, Behme was conscious and walked toward Krausz and Sgt. Brandon Ponce, who had arrived shortly after Krausz. The two helped carry the man a safe distance from the flames.

The burning gas was so hot it melted the road. A year later, Krausz still remembers what happened there every time he drives over the short strip of new pavement. Today, a few model homes sit quietly next to empty lots waiting for construction. A sign reading “Care Free Living” marks the entrance to the subdivision.

But a struggle between Behme’s widow and the parties she holds accountable for his death continues. A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Angela Behme and a review by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are still open a year after the explosion.

OSHA issued a “serious violation” citation under standards for excavation requirements to Glen Carbon-based Keller Construction, a parent company of The Villas at Nottingham LLC, the subdivision’s developer. The administration suggested a fine of $7,000, but Keller Construction has contested that fine. Because the case remains open, a review by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has not yet been completed, OSHA spokeswoman Rhonda Burke said. The commission is an independent agency that reviews OSHA penalties.

Keller Construction did not return multiple requests for comment.

In June last year, Behme’s widow filed a wrongful-death suit, accusing five parties of being responsible for her husband’s death. The original lawsuit named the following defendants: Ameren Illinois; Keystone Construction and Development, which is connected to Keller Construction; and SMS Engineers.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of 13 counts of negligence, claiming they failed to plan, design, locate, survey and direct observation on the subdivision construction project, and failed to ensure proper marking; and failed to investigate the depth of the gas pipeline before excavating, among other accusations. The lawsuit claims the loss of Behme’s love and companionship caused suffering and grief for his loved ones. Angela Behme is seeking an amount that “will fairly and justly compensate the family for their loss,” said Thomas Keefe Jr., the attorney for Angela Behme.

Though the original lawsuit named other limited liability companies tied to Keller Construction, the number of defendants has been pared down to focus on Ameren Illinois and SMS Engineers, an Alton-based engineering and land surveying company, said Keefe.

“We’re pretty certain most of the responsibility, if not all the responsibility, rests with Ameren,” Keefe said.

Keefe said the 10-inch metal pipeline originally installed in 1962 should have been buried 3 feet underground, but he says at the time of Behme’s accident, the pipe was buried just 6 to 8 inches underground. The area’s topography might have changed over the years, the attorney added. Behme’s tilling equipment, called a rotary mixer, was set to dig 11 inches deep.

Ameren, however, claims Keller Construction failed to contact the energy company before workers began excavating. Ameren filed a third-party complaint, adding Keller Construction, the subdivision developer’s parent company, to the lawsuit.

Ameren, along with the company’s attorney, did not respond to a request for comment.

On March 17, 2016, Ameren says, its workers located the pipe and marked it with paint and yellow flags, according to Ameren’s complaint. An Ameren representative contacted Keller Construction on the same day to discuss the construction project’s status. A representative for Keller said the company would notify Ameren in advance of excavation, but the Keller company did not contact Ameren and proceeded without notifying the energy company, Ameren’s complaint says.

But Angela Behme’s attorney says otherwise. Keefe says Ameren failed to properly “pothole,” or check the pipe’s depth. Keefe alleges that Ameren officials in October “wanted to pothole the very area where this accident happened, but never followed up, never potholed it.” Just 50 feet to the west, Keefe says, Ameren checked the depth of other pipelines, and found those pipes were buried 51 inches.

“Keller reasonably believed that this thing was at least 4 and a half to 5 feet deep,” based on the nearby pipe depth, Keefe said.

Ameren denies Angela Behme’s assertions, arguing the energy company relied on Keller Construction’s word that they would not begin excavation without notification. Ameren’s complaint accuses Keller Construction of violating a law that requires companies to provide Ameren notice when they are preparing to begin excavation. Ameren also claims repairs to the pipe cost roughly $96,500, and the loss of gas amounted to nearly $5,000.

Keefe, meanwhile, asserts there is “zero evidence” Keller moved any dirt, saying the day of the explosion was Behme’s first day on the job and that he was operating a tiller, not excavating equipment.

In such a document-heavy case involving so many parties, the lawsuit will continue for at least another year, Keefe predicted. A trial has tentatively been set for March 2018.

As the legal battles continue, family and loved ones of Behme have started The Doug Behme Foundation’s to benefit burn victims and their families.

In February, the Southern Illinois Association of Police Chiefs awarded the Life Saving Award to the two Maryville police officers who helped pull Behme away from the fire. Krausz and Ponce say the explosion remains vivid in their memories.

“I think about that day every time I drive down that road,” Krausz said. “There are some things you’re never going to forget.”

This story was originally published April 6, 2017 at 7:10 AM with the headline "One year after Maryville explosion, worker’s death still embroiled in legal dispute."